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Do you ever tell folks your adult daughter or son IS coming home for the holidays, just so you won't have to hear the pity in other's voices, when you tell them they are not coming home?

For example, Thanksgiving rolls around and people start talking about where they're going or who is coming home etc. I try my best to steer clear of those conversations, but it's not always easy. When co-workers or people you don't see often ask you if your adult son or daughter is coming home for the holidays, have you ever just lied and said "yes," because you wanted to avoid the look in their eyes (pity, confusion, maybe even judgement) that your son or daughter isn't naturally interested in being with you or coming home for the holidays?

Side note: there's no particular drama, daughter just keeps us as arms-length. She's an actor - and we're invited to see performances. She will randomly reach out, and we help pay bills, so there's that. Yet she never really wishes to be around us. At times, she'll end "short" phone calls with "love you."  So I think it's as good as it can possibly get, but woefully and painfully short of what I wish it would be.

I'm often sad enough about it - to where I don't want the added "hurt" of having someone else sad for me. I already feel pathetically sad about things and frankly very envious of other "normal" families. In years past, I've just said she wasn't coming home, indicated she was going somewhere else, and tried to sound upbeat and light-hearted about it...but the idea of doing that year after year...wow. I truly wish I just didn't care. In time, I plan to work more on having other interests. I wish I could find ways to move past the hurt and disappointment each year. I mean, it's September, and I'm already thinking about trying to mitigate my feelings for the holidays, months from now.

Hi there,

My initial take on this question is that the little white lie doesn't really matter--what matters is your general disappointment, maybe grief, at not having a close, "normal" relationship with your adult daughter because of BPD.

My guess is that when people ask about your holiday plans, they are likely trying to make nice conversation.  They might even be vying for an opportunity to divulge their own amazing plans for holidays--not necessarily to rub it in, but to share their joy and enthusiasm.  Because of your own strained relationship with your daughter, the stark comparison could wear you down. 

I think it's fine to tell a little white lie.  You could think of it as a lesser evil, because people probably don't want to learn the truth:  that you're saddened by your daughter's absence during the holidays.  Talking about your strained relationship isn't what people want to hear when they ask about your plans, and so in a way, you're being kind to them by replying in the expected way.  If you can't bear to lie, then maybe you say something vague, like you haven't finalized plans yet, or that maybe she'll come.  But my suspicions are that you're deeply hurt, not by the lie, but by your daughter staying away.  And that's OK, too.  If you're lucky, maybe you have one or two confidants that would understand where you're coming from.  We certainly do on this site.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the holidays come with lots of stress, and stress can exacerbate BPD symptoms.  If you read these boards, I think you'll find all sorts of references to meltdowns provoked by holidays.  Maybe your daughter is staying away during the holidays because she's trying to prevent her own meltdowns.  She knows that seeing happy family members is triggering to her, and so, in a way, she's protecting herself (and you) by keeping her distance.  Does that ring any bells in your situation?

My adult stepdaughter with BPD hasn't spent holidays with extended family (other than her dad and me) for several years now.  What we do is invite her to all family gatherings, but we let her decide how much contact she can handle.  Our invitations will be along these lines:  "You're welcome to joins us for Thanksgiving, and we expect your siblings, aunts, uncles and grandma to come for dinner at 3 PM, but we'll be serving hors d'oeuvres all day if you prefer to stop by earlier.  Of course, you're welcome to visit on Friday, Saturday or Sunday for leftovers, any time."  To date, she's generally visited after Thanksgiving for leftovers, once her relatives have left.  My thinking is that she doesn't have enough self-confidence yet to face her extended family.  My best guess is that she won't have enough self-confidence to face them until she finishes her studies and has found a full-time job.  My hope is that once she achieves these goals, she'll feel more like an adult, her self-confidence will improve, and she'll be more ready to mend the strained relationships with her extended family, in small doses.  At least that's my hope.

All the best to you.

I hope I'm responding to your kind reply properly...it was interesting - when I went to the board to read it, I couldn't find it, but the link an the automatic email brought me to your response.   Thank you for your take on this, it is helpful to frame this as her "not coming" as possibly being a way to protect herself...and also for me to be to reminded that folks are often eager to share their own plans, and are often just making conversation about the holidays. True in many cases. There are the folks who would truly want to know - and they're a bit harder for me to get past without sharing her real intentions/plans. In time, I'm going to have to somehow learn to be comfortable with the reality, as best I can.